Temptation comes in many forms – this is the image that precipitated me into the murky world of guns and cigarette advertising. Recently retired, I was hooked. I’ve always been a sucker for word play, and straight forward as this advertisement appears, it worms its way into your consciousness. The subliminal command to “SMOKE” lingers between the spokes of the carriage backed up by the stirring sight of 1897 cutting-edge technology in action. Scything through 21^st Century sensibilities, what modern ad-person would base their tobacco campaign on a killing machine, however high tech?

After a lifetime of explaining why I consider the study of death (disguised as curating an arms and armour collection) a good use of anyone’s time, the glorious incongruity of this splendid advertisement was irresistible. It was an added bonus to find how closely the history of the tobacco  industry and development of British advertising at the end of the 19^th /early 20^th century were connected.

As a boomer, my adolescence was set against the colourful background of ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s advertising, and pursuing this thread of the smoking gun has proved very nostalgic. It didn’t turn me into a smoker – my parents had both given up the habit and so had a somewhat evangelical approach to the matter. 

But it didn’t stop me enjoying the vibrancy and skill of the advertiser’s art in which the tobacco industry was a major and increasingly skilful player as its boundaries tightened.  As with much history, we can also learn lessons from the past. Spotting manipulation is often easier in retrospect, and forewarned, we can better protect ourselves for the future